But Dr José Garcia Lobera, chairman of the Southend Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “Patients should make sure they attend an appointment if they book one or cancel it if they no longer need it, so it can be made available to someone else.

“As GPs we work hard to meet the needs of our patients and make it as easy as possible for them to see their doctor.

“But we need patients to do their bit too by letting us know if they need to cancel or rearrange their appointment.

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A Downing Street source said last month: “It is increasingly clear that a large number of surgeries are not providing access that patients need - and that patients are suffering as a result because they are then forced to go to A&E to seek care.”

Free wi-fi surgeries

Patients will be able to get free wi-fi in almost 1,000 GP surgeries from next month. Around five million people will benefit from the pilot scheme at one in eight practices. NHS Digital plans to roll it out to all surgeries by the end of the year. Officials said the service in waiting rooms was developed due to patient demand. Users will access the web via an nhs.uk page, which will also carry health information.